ROCK LOBSTER FISHERY
The Rock Lobster Fishery is Victoria’s second most valuable fishery after abalone and is based on the
southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii). The fishery is quota managed, with a total allowable
commercial catch set annually after the status of the stock has been assessed. There are two
commercial zones in the fishery that operate along the entire coastline of the State.
Almost all of the catch is exported to international markets, predominantly in Asia.
The primary management strategy of the Victorian Rock Lobster Fishery is to significantly rebuild the
resource to ensure sustainability and improve catch rates by reducing fishing effort and improving
economic efficiency.
FISHERY OVERVIEW
Summary – Key Elements of the Rock Lobster Fishery






The Species
The Fishery
The Fishing Method
Management Arrangements
Fishery Statistics and Data
o Catch and Effort Over Time
o Eastern Zone
o Western Zone
o Puerulus Settlement
By-product and bycatch species
Summary – Key Elements of the Rock Lobster Fishery
Eastern Zone
Species
Fishery boundary
Fishing method
Primary management methods
Western Zone
Southern rock lobster(Jasus edwardsii)
Longitude 143o40’E
Longitude 143o40’E
o
Longitude 150 20’E
Longitude 140o57.9’E
Latitude 39o12’S
Latitude 40oS
Baited commercial pots
Limited entry
Individual transferrable quota units and total allowable
commercial catch
Secondary management
methods
Maximum number of licences
Maximum number of licences
per boat
Total number of quota units
Minimum quota holding per
licence
Maximum quota holding per
licence
Maximum number of pots per
boat
Minimum number of pots to
activate licence
Total number of pots per zone
Legal minimum length, gear restrictions, closed seasons,
prohibition on the retention of soft-shelled rock lobster or
berried females rock lobster
47
71
Not limited
Not limited
1000
3633.48
5 units
10 units
No maximum
No maximum
120
140
15
20
2021
5162
Legal minimum length
Females = 105mm Males = 110mm carapace length
Closed seasons
Females = 1 Jun to 15 Nov Males = 15 Sept to 15 Nov
The Species
The southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) inhabits coastal reefs from the southwest coast of Western Australia to the south coast of New South Wales and
Tasmania and New Zealand.
Southern rock lobsters are found to depths of 150 metres, but most catch comes from inshore waters
less than 100 metres deep.
The reduced availability of habitat means that the abundance of rock lobsters is lower in eastern
Victoria than in the western part of the State.
The rock lobster has complex life cycle. After mating in autumn, fertilised eggs are carried under the
female’s tail for approximately three months before they are released between about September and
November. The larvae, known as phyllosoma, live in the plankton and undergo eleven developmental
stages over one to two years while being carried by ocean currents.
Adult rock lobsters feed mostly at night and on bottom-dwelling invertebrates such as molluscs,
crustaceans and echinoderms.
The Fishery
The rock lobster fishery is divided into two separately managed zones: the Eastern Zone and the
Western Zone (Figure 1). The Eastern Zone extends west from the New South Wales border to Apollo
Bay. The Western Zone extends from Apollo Bay west to the border with South Australia. The
Victorian Government has jurisdiction over the commercial rock lobster fishery in Commonwealth
waters adjacent to Victoria through an Offshore Constitutional Settlement Agreement with the
Commonwealth Government.
The main ports in the Eastern Zone are Queenscliff, San Remo and Lakes Entrance. In the Western
Zone, most catch is landed at Portland, Port Fairy, Warrnambool, Port Campbell and Apollo Bay.
Figure 1: Victorian Rock Lobster Fishery management zones
The Fishing Method
Rock lobsters are caught in beehive-shaped measuring 1.5 metres wide by 1.5
metres long and 1.2 metres high. Pots have one entrance and gaps that allow
undersize animals to escape. Pots are connected to buoys that are visible on the
water surface.
Management Arrangements
The Rock Lobster Fishery is managed in accordance with Victorian Rock Lobster
Fishery Management Plan, the primary strategy of which is to significantly rebuild
the rock lobster stocks in both zones to a level equivalent to 40% of the estimated
abundance in 1951.
A Rock Lobster Fishery Access Licence is required to harvest lobsters for the commercial market; entry
to the fishery is limited to the current number of licences. A minimum of 5 quota units and 15 pots are
required In the Eastern Zone and 10 quota units and 20 pots in the Western Zone for a licence to be
active.
Each zone has a total number of individual transferable quota units and a maximum number of pots.
Quota units and pot entitlements are separate and independently tradable commodities within a zone
and can be permanently transferred or leased for a quota period.
Since quota management was introduced in 2001, the fishery has been managed through the annual
total allowable commercial catch (TACC) which is set for each zone. Each licence holder is assigned a
proportion of the TACC (in kilograms) in accordance with the number quota units attached to the
licence.
Other management arrangements for the rock lobster fishery include:
 The legal minimum length for male and female rock is 110 and 105 millimetres in carapace
length, respectively.
 Fishing for rock lobsters is prohibited during closed seasons:
o Female rock lobsters: from 1 June to 15 November to protect females in berry (with
eggs attached) during the spawning period; and
o Male rock lobsters: from 15 September to 15 November to protect males during the
moulting period when soft shells increase their vulnerability.
Fishery Statistics and Data
Fishery-dependent and independent data is used to estimate the biomass of undersize and legal-size
of rock lobsters, as well as levels of egg production. The data includes catch, effort, growth, lengthfrequency distribution, pre-recruit abundance and puerulus abundance, and comes from a variety of
sources including commercial fishing activities, observer programs and research programs. The data is
used in the annual assessment of stock and the harvest strategy utilises estimates of egg production
and available biomass (legally sized animals) in the yearly determination of total allowable catch.
Catch and effort over time
Rock lobster abundance and fishery catch per unit effort have progressively declined over time and
TACCs have been adjusted accordingly (Table 1). The primary strategy in the Victorian Rock Lobster
Fishery Management Plan is to significantly rebuild the resource by 2020-21.
Table 1: Victorian rock lobster landed catch and annual total allowable commercial catch (TACC)
Quota
Quota period
EZ TACC
EZ catch
WZ TACC set
WZ catch
year
set
(tonnes)
(tonnes)
(tonnes)
(tonnes)
2014-15
1 July – 30 June
59
230
2013-14^
1 July – 30 June
51
260
2012-13
1 July – 30 June
48
48
260
260
2011-12
1 July – 30 June
66
65.3
240
237
2010-11
1 July – 30 June
66
64.8
240
237
2009-10
1 July – 30 June
66
43.9
240
230
2009*
1 April – 30 June
6.9
5.8
55.2
36
2008-09
1 April – 31 March
66
41.3
320
244
2007-08
1 April – 31 March
66
50.1
380
319
2006-07
1 April – 31 March
60
53.5
450
329
2005-06
1 April – 31 March
60
55.7
450
405
2004-05
1 April – 31 March
60
53.2
450
421
2003-04
1 April – 31 March
60
54.4
450
436
2002-03
1 April – 31 March
60
49.9
450
440
^Complete season catch available September 2014
*Reflects the change in the fishing season to align it with the financial year.
Eastern Zone
Between 1978 (when catch and effort logbooks were introduced) and 1983, the average annual
Eastern Zone rock lobster catch was about 130 tonne but decreased to about 66 tonnes per year over
the subsequent 16 years. Catches have ranged between 40 and 65 tonnes since quota was introduced
in 2001(Figure 2).
Fishing effort between 1978-79 and 1987-88 generally reflected changes in catch. Between 1988-89
and 2001-02 however, effort increased substantially without a concomitant increase in the catch. The
introduction of quota management in 2001 brought the effort and catch levels back into alignment
(Figure 2).
Catch per unit effort (CPUE) decreased from 0.72kg/pot lift in 1978-79 to 0.26kg/pot lift in 1995-96,
the lowest level in the history of the fishery. Following annual increases from 1996-97 to 2003-04,
CPUE decreased through to 2008-09. Since then, the CPUE has been increasing and in 2012-13 was
0.51kg/pot lift.(Figure 3).
180
160
300
Catch
Effort
250
Catch (tonnes)
120
200
100
Quota introduced
150
80
60
100
40
Effort (X 1000 potlifts)
140
50
20
0
1978/79
1979/80
1980/81
1981/82
1982/83
1983/84
1984/85
1985/86
1986/87
1987/88
1988/89
1989/90
1990/91
1991/92
1992/93
1993/94
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
0
Fishing Year (Nov-Sept)
Figure 2: Total catch (tonnes) and effort (x1000 pot lifts) in the Eastern Zone from 1978-79 to 201213.
CPUE (kg/potlift)
1.0
Nominal
Standardised
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
1978/79
1979/80
1980/81
1981/82
1982/83
1983/84
1984/85
1985/86
1986/87
1987/88
1988/89
1989/90
1990/91
1991/92
1992/93
1993/94
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
0.0
Fishing Year (Nov-Sept)
Figure 3: Nominal (unstandardised) and standardised catch per unit effort (kg/pot lift) in the Eastern
Zone from 1978-79 to 2012-13.
Western Zone
Western Zone catch decreased from just under 500 tonnes 1978-79 to around 300 tonnes in the late
1980s. Catches improved throughout the late 1990s, reaching 520 tonnes in 2000-01. A TACC of 450
tonnes was introduced for the 2002-03 season, but after several years of declining catches and catch
rates, the TACC was steadily reduced and a number of licences and associated quota units were
bought out of the fishery in 2009. Since that time, TACCs have been set at levels between 230 and 260
tonnes (Figure 4) and as a result of constraining catches, the catch rate has been steadily increasing
(Figure 5). At its lowest, the CPUE was 0.37kg/pot lift.
Quota introduced
Catch
Effort
1200
500
1000
400
800
300
600
200
400
100
200
0
1978/79
1979/80
1980/81
1981/82
1982/83
1983/84
1984/85
1985/86
1986/87
1987/88
1988/89
1989/90
1990/91
1991/92
1992/93
1993/94
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
0
Effort (X 1000 potlifts)
Catch (tonnes)
600
Fishing Year (Nov-Sept)
Figure 4: Total catch (tonnes) and nominal effort (x1000 potlifts) in the Western Zone from 1978-79
to 2012-13.
CPUE (kg/potlift)
1.0
Nominal
Standardised
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
1978/79
1979/80
1980/81
1981/82
1982/83
1983/84
1984/85
1985/86
1986/87
1987/88
1988/89
1989/90
1990/91
1991/92
1992/93
1993/94
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
0.0
Fishing Year (Nov-Sept)
Figure 5: Nominal (unstandardised) and standardised catch per unit effort (kg/pot lift) in the
Western Zone from 1978 to 2012/13.
Puerulus settlement
After nine to 12 months as planktonic larvae, lobsters metamorphose into a post-larval stage called
puerulus and settle in inshore reef habitat. The numbers of puerulus that settle is strongly correlated
with catches of lobsters four to five years later.
Trends in puerulus counts are consistent between the Victorian Western Zone and the neighbouring
South Australian Rock Lobster Fishery (Figure 6). Higher levels of settlement were recorded in 2002,
2005 and 2006 and were reflected in higher catch rates in subsequent years.
SZ South Australia
NZ South Australia
WZ Victoria
5
4
3
2
1
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
0
1998
Puerulus settlement index
(puerulus/collector)
6
Season
Figure 6: Puerulus settlement index in the Southern (SZ) and Northern Zone (NZ) of South Australia
and the Western Zone Rock Lobster Fishery from 1998-2010.
By-product and bycatch species
The rate of catch of by-product and bycatch species is comparatively low in all rock lobster fisheries
due to the nature of the fishing equipment. However, as part of their logbook reporting requirements,
Victorian commercial fishers are required to record the weight of a range of by-product species, the
most common of which are octopus and scale fish. Catch of octopus and some fish, such as snapper,
will be kept and sold, while other species of fish will be used as bait. Rock lobster fishers are restricted
to daily catch limits for certain species; eight wrasse, two banded morwong and a total combined
number of two gummy shark and school shark.
The level of by-product taken in the rock lobster fishery has been consistent over the last five years. In
the Eastern Zone, an average of 1.5 – 2 tonne of octopus, 0.1 – 0.2 tonne of snapper, 0.6 – 1.6 tonne of
wrasse and 1.5 – 3 tonne of leatherjacket have been taken per annum. In the Western Zone, an
average of 15 – 20 tonne of octopus, 0.3 – 1.3 tonne of snapper, 0.2 – 0.3 tonne of wrasse and 1.5 – 3
tonne of leatherjacket have been taken.
Commercial fishers are also required to report any incidental interactions with protected species in the
Protected Species Interaction Form, which is part of the rock lobster logbook. Protected species that
may be encountered in the fishery include all cetaceans, seabirds, marine turtles, seals, syngnathids,
great white shark, grey nurse shark and whale shark.
Under the Victorian Wildlife Act 1975, the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and the Fisheries Act
1995, interactions with protected wildlife are an offence and may be subject to prosecution. An
operator who is fishing in Victorian waters in accordance with the conditions of a Rock Lobster Fishery
Access Licence and the prescribed management arrangements for the fishery, will not be prosecuted
for an incidental or unintentional interaction with protected species, provided such interactions are
reported.
There have been very few interactions reported with these species and overall the impact of rock
lobster fishing on these species in Victoria is negligible. In the 2013/14 fishing season, three Australian
Fur-seals and two leatherback turtles were reported.
Additionally, an on-board observer program monitors bycatch, wildlife interactions and discards.
Monitoring has shown that fishing-related interactions and mortalities of bycatch species are low,
which is due in part to the use of escape gaps in the pots and the ability to return bycatch to the water
unharmed. Fishing effects on bycatch species are also minimised through industry Codes of Practice.